McVey Monthly Musings: September 2020

This is the first post of McVey Monthly Musings, regular updates from Sara McVey on what’s happening at Sequoia Living.

What programs and services are Sequoia Living reactivating?

Sequoia Living is carefully reactivating some programs and services, including safe outdoor visitations now taking place at all CCRCs. As part of our efforts to get to our “new next,” we are also proactively approaching the counties with ideas for reactivating more services and programs at our CCRCs.

Where can Sequoia Living residents and staff get flu shots?

Flu shots will be available at Sequoia Living CCRCs for residents and staff in the coming weeks. It’s more important than ever to get your flu shot this fall, and they are also available at your doctor’s office, health clinic, and other locations.

What are Sequoia Superhero Spotlights and how do they work?

Sequoia Superhero Spotlights recognize staff members who bring their superpowers to the important work we do every day, cultivating a culture of celebration. Any staff member can submit a Superhero Spotlight form about anyone who works here, with forms sent out via email and available at your community’s reception desk. Please share the weekly Superhero Spotlights flyers with residents, customers, and staff—and don’t forget to like Sequoia Living’s Facebook page for the latest Superhero Spotlights.

Please share the weekly Superhero Spotlights flyers with residents, customers, and staff—and don’t forget to like Sequoia Living’s Facebook page  for the latest Superhero Spotlights.

Housing Resources During COVID-19

Do you need information about housing during COVID-19? The Housing is Key website is a helpful resource for tenants, homeowners, and landlords.

What is Everbridge and how does Sequoia Living use it for communications?

Everbridge is Sequoia Living's new mass notification system, primarily used for urgent or time-sensitive communications. You may have received messages from Sequoia Living via Everbridge. Sequoia Living staff, please make sure that HR has your correct personal email address and cell number on file.

What were the key results from Sequoia Living's COVID-19 resident survey?

Key results from Sequoia Living's summer survey of 324 CCRC residents about COVID-19 and the “new next” include: 97.3% feel informed about Sequoia Living’s COVID-19 response, 86.3% approve of the Action Plan, and 87.7% want more financial information. The survey also showed progress correlating with suggestions, with comments centering on physical/mental impacts of restrictions, safety, financial impacts, and gratitude for staff and leadership. Community-specific feedback is being provided to Executive Directors for follow-up.

• 97.3% of all respondents said they feel informed about Sequoia Living’s response to COVID-19.
• 86.3% of respondents approve of the Sequoia Living Action Plan, which has been on our website since March.
• 87.7% would like more information about how Sequoia Living is doing financially. As a result, residents and I participated in Zoom calls in July and August.

The comments consistently centered around the physical and mental impacts of the safeguarding restrictions, continuing to stay safe during COVID-19, and financial impacts. Resident comments also expressed gratitude for Sequoia Living staff members and leadership, their health and safety, and the care they are receiving during this challenging time.

There was also a fair amount of community-specific feedback and questions, which are being provided to the Executive Directors for follow-up with residents.

What are the positive updates and achievements at Sequoia Living?

Sequoia Living's bright spots include low COVID-19 cases among residents (one recovered case out of 1900+) and staff (21 recovered out of 720), 52 new residents scheduled for Viamonte in December, and significant CARES Act funding received ($240,250 from HHS, plus previous $1.2M). These updates reflect positive developments as of September 24, 2020.

Sequoia Status Snippets

Sequoia Living Occupancy

As of August 31, the average occupancy at Western and Eastern Park Apartments and Town Park Towers is 94.2%. The Woods is 100% occupied, similar to previous months.

Our CCRC Independent Living occupancy held steady at The Sequoias San Francisco, Portola Valley, and Tamalpais, averaging 94.7% as of the end of August. The average occupancy for Skilled Nursing is 61.9%, Assisted Living is 93.4%, and Memory Care is 75.5%.

Skilled Nursing occupancy took the biggest hit because we stopped taking Medicare admissions in March. We are slowly moving to reopen Skilled Nursing to outside admissions.

As of July 2020, there are 905 CCRC residents with an average age of 85.49 and average length of stay of 13.42 years.

2020 CCRC Entrance Fee Status

Sequoia Living relies heavily on strong occupancy and a regular collection of entrance fees to cover the costs of running our CCRCs and ongoing capital investments.

During 2019, we collected $19M in entrance fees. As of July 31, 2020, we have collected $6.13M in new entrance fees and $1.26M from current residents who have upgraded apartments, for a total of $7.39M so far this year. Our expected year-end entrance fee total is $10M, which is about half of what we budgeted for this year.

Starting in March, the Board of Directors and leadership began studying and adjusting our financial projections to ensure we have a clear vision of COVID-19’s impact on occupancy and revenue.

Our revenue recovery efforts are underway with heightened expense management, prioritizing capital spends for life safety initiatives and a third-party review of our operations to identify cost creep (see Operational Audits).

CCRC Operational Audits

At the beginning of 2020, we began working with a third-party firm to review our operations and benchmark us against similar organizations to identify where we can improve and where we perform well. The goal of these studies is to provide Executive Directors and departmental leadership with guidance on ways to control costs while continuing to bolster quality and satisfaction.

2021 Budget

Planning for 2021 is underway with staff across all areas of Sequoia Living.

Strategic Planning

Members of the Strategic Planning Committee have been meeting since May to examine each part of Sequoia Living. The goal is to understand where we are today and where we should consider heading. Our strategic priorities will be clarified by the end of 2020.

Diversity and Inclusion Task Force

Board and staff members have come together to assess Sequoia Living’s current commitments to our residents, staff, and Board, and make recommendations to enhance our effectiveness in creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organizational culture, including anti-racist education and training.

What is Sequoia Living's approach to the 'new next'?

Sequoia Living's approach to the 'new next' involves leaving “normal” behind and focusing on making strides to bounce forward into an even better version. We are not waiting for things to bounce back. Because of the people who live, learn, and work here, we are Sequoia Strong. Sara McVey, President & CEO, Sequoia Living.

We are not waiting for things to bounce back; we are making strides to bounce forward into an even better version than who we were yesterday. Because of the people who live, learn, and work here, we are Sequoia Strong.

Sara McVey
President & CEO, Sequoia Living